- Table View
- List View
Confessions of a Tax Collector: One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS
by Richard YanceyTwelve years ago, Richard Yancey answered a blind ad in the newspaper offering a salary higher than what he’d made over the three previous years combined. It turned out that the job was for the Internal Revenue Service -- the most hated and feared organization in the federal government.So Yancey became the man who got in his car, drove to your house, knocked on your door, and made you pay. Never mind that his car was littered with candy wrappers, his palms were sweaty, and he couldn’t remember where he stashed his own tax records. He was there on the authority of the United States government.With "a rich mix of humor, horror, and angst [and] better than most novels on the bestseller lists" (Boston Sunday Globe), Confessions of a Tax Collector contains an astonishing cast of too-strange-for-fiction characters. But the most intriguing character of all is Yancey himself who -- in detailing how the job changed him and how he managed to pull himself back from the brink of moral, ethical, and spiritual bankruptcy -- reveals what really lies beneath those dark suits and mirrored sunglasses.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Misremembering Dr. King: Revisiting The Legacy Of Martin Luther King Jr
by Jennifer J. YancoWe all know the name. Martin Luther King, the great American Civil Rights leader. But most people today know relatively little about King, the campaigner against militarism, materialism, and racism—what he called the "giant triplets. " Jennifer J. Yanco takes steps to redress this imbalance. "My objective is to highlight the important aspects of Dr. King’s work which have all but disappeared from popular memory, so that more of us can ‘really see King. ’" After briefly telling the familiar story of King’s civil rights campaigns and accomplishments, she considers the lesser-known concerns that are an essential part of his legacy. Here we are reminded that King was an anti–Vietnam War activist who argued that resources spent on militarism and national security served few at the expense of many; that growing materialism and an ethos of greed was damaging the moral and spiritual health of the country even as it impoverished a disproportionate number of blacks; and that the way to address the harm done to blacks by centuries of racism was to do something special to help them compete on a just and equal basis.
Frank and Charli: Woodstock, True Love, and the Sixties
by Frank YandolinoStories of Remarkable People and Enduring Love in the Time of Woodstock In the 1960s and '70s, Frank Yandolino rode the hippie counterculture movement alongside visionaries like Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang, and he helped put together the Woodstock Festival of 1969, the era’s emblem of love and peace. From then on (and even before that), Yandolino, a beguiling fast-talker, charmer, and gifted storyteller, took charge of his life according to those ideals, grabbing and embracing all opportunities that were thrown his way. This memoir is an account of his life as a hippie, art director, entrepreneur, manager, and screenwriter (as well as various other hats he wore in the creative industry)—representing musicians like Joe Cocker and Paul Butterfield, art directing at Penthouse magazine, designing "erotic sheets,” writing a screenplay about Marilyn Monroe and her seamstress Lena Pepitone, among other things. With his gung-ho attitude and fortuitous connections, Yandolino befriended Salvador Dali, hung out with Jimi Hendrix, ran with Abbie Hoffman, was kidnapped by a festival security detail in Paris, mixed with models and Penthouse pets, and watched secret Hells Angels initiation ceremonies. Throughout it all, Yandolino’s key message is his "free bird” philosophy of grabbing every chance you can and staying true to one’s artistic individuality. And, in the end, despite his fast life, he was always grounded by his love for his wife, Charli.
Los dueños de la pelota: Clubes, dinero y política. Los personajes más poderosos del deporte en la Argentina
by Federico YañezA partir de la semblanza de un grupo de personajes fundamentales -y de la investigación de prácticas de clubes, sindicatos y comisiones directivas-, el periodista Federico Yáñez ensaya un cuadro integral del lugar que ha alcanzado en los últimos años el deporte, como foco de un enorme poder económico y plataforma de lanzamiento de carreras políticas. En otras palabras, nos cuenta quiénes son en la Argentina los dueños de la pelota. El deporte se ha convertido en un foco de poder muy grande en los últimos años. Los triunfos en mundiales y juegos olímpicos les han permitido a muchos dirigentes escalar gracias a los éxitos de los atletas que conducen. El caso más resonante es el de Mauricio Macri, quien -tras doce años como presidente de Boca- ganó la jefatura de gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires y ocho años después, la presidencia de la nación. El deporte no solo abre las puertas de una carrera política sino también es un refugio en donde encontrar una legitimación social que no se tiene, como le ha pasado a Hugo Moyano en Independiente, donde logró cautivar a la esquiva clase media. Las comisiones directivas de federaciones y clubes están plagadas de políticos, sindicalistas y empresarios que, no conformes con el poder que manejan, buscan más o buscan mejor. En la actualidad, dirigir River o Boca es más importante que dirigir un ministerio. Conducir la AFA habilita el manejo de sumas económicas mayores que las de muchas grandes empresas. Y ser campeón en un mundial puede ser más fuerte a nivel popular que ganar una elección presidencial. La industria del deporte administra alrededor de setecientos mil millones de dólares a nivel global y su potencial de expansión parece ilimitado. Un triunfo deportivo le permite a un dirigente pasar de ser un ferretero a "vicepresidente del mundo", como le gustaba decir a Julio Humberto Grondona. La dirigencia hace posible el acceso a un poder inusitado, aferrarse al que ya se tiene, ampliarlo y fortalecerlo. Gremialistas, empresarios, exdeportistas y dirigentes políticos confluyen en un libro que se pregunta quiénes son hoy en la Argentina los dueños de la pelota: -Agustín Pichot: vicepresidente de World Rugby-Carlos Mac Allister: secretario de Deportes-Fernando Aguerre: presidente de la ISA (International Surfing Association)-Gerardo Werthein: titular del Comité Olímpico Argentino-Horacio Muratore: presidente de la FIBA (Federación Internacional de Baloncesto)-Matías Lammens: presidente de San Lorenzo, extesorero de la AFA-Pepe Sánchez: presidente de Bahía Basket-Rodolfo D'Onofrio: presidente de River-Víctor Blanco: presidente de Racing, exdirector de Selecciones Nacionales-Chiqui Tapia: presidente de la AFA, expresidente de Barracas Central-Daniel Angelici: presidente de Boca-Hugo Moyano: presidente de Independiente y titular de la CGT Azopardo
Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy
by Andrew YangA lively and bold blueprint for moving beyond the &“era of institutional failure&” by transforming our outmoded political and economic systems to be resilient to twenty-first-century problems, from the popular entrepreneur, bestselling author, and political truth-teller &“A vitally important book.&”—Mark Cuban Despite being written off by the media, Andrew Yang&’s shoestring 2020 presidential campaign—powered by his proposal for a universal basic income of $1,000 a month for all Americans—jolted the political establishment, growing into a massive, diverse movement. Now, in Forward, Yang reveals that UBI and the threat of job automation are only the beginning, diagnosing how a series of cascading problems within our antiquated systems keeps us stuck in the past—imperiling our democracy at every level. With America&’s stagnant institutions failing to keep pace with technological change, we grow more polarized as tech platforms supplant our will while feasting on our data. Yang introduces us to the various &“priests of the decline&” of America, including politicians whose incentives have become divorced from the people they supposedly serve. The machinery of American democracy is failing, Yang argues, and we need bold new ideas to rewire it for twenty-first-century problems. Inspired by his experience running for office and as an entrepreneur, and by ideas drawn from leading thinkers, Yang offers a series of solutions, including data rights, ranked-choice voting, and fact-based governance empowered by modern technology, writing that &“there is no cavalry&”—it&’s up to us. This is a powerful and urgent warning that we must step back from the brink and plot a new way forward for our democracy.
Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale
by Belle Yang“A healing portrait drawn in epic ink strokes.”—Elle When Belle Yang was forced to take refuge in her parents’ home after an abusive boyfriend began stalking her, her father entertained her with stories of old China. The history she’d ignored while growing up became a source of comfort and inspiration, and narrowed the gap separating her—an independent, Chinese-American woman—from her Old World Chinese parents. In Forget Sorrow, Yang makes her debut into the graphic form with the story of her father’s family, reunited under the House of Yang in Manchuria during the Second World War and struggling—both together and individually—to weather poverty, famine, and, later, Communist oppression. The parallels between Belle Yang’s journey of self-discovery and the lives and choices of her grandfather, his brothers, and their father (the Patriarch) speak powerfully of the conflicts between generations—and of possibilities for reconciliation. Forget Sorrow demonstrates the power of storytelling and remembrance, as Belle—in telling this story—finds the strength to honor both her father and herself.
Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now
by Jeff Yang Phil Yu Philip Wang"Hip, entertaining...imaginative."—Kirkus, starred review *"Essential." —Min Jin Lee * "A Herculean effort."—Lisa Ling * "A must-read."—Ijeoma Oluo * "Get two copies."—Shea Serrano * "A book we've needed for ages." —Celeste Ng * "Accessible, informative, and fun." —Cathy Park Hong * "This book has serious substance...Also, I'm in it."—Ronny Chieng RISE is a love letter to and for Asian Americans--a vivid scrapbook of voices, emotions, and memories from an era in which our culture was forged and transformed, and a way to preserve both the headlines and the intimate conversations that have shaped our community into who we are today. When the Hart-Celler Act passed in 1965, opening up US immigration to non-Europeans, it ushered in a whole new era. But even to the first generation of Asian Americans born in the US after that milestone, it would have been impossible to imagine that sushi and boba would one day be beloved by all, that a Korean boy band named BTS would be the biggest musical act in the world, that one of the most acclaimed and popular movies of 2018 would be Crazy Rich Asians, or that we would have an Asian American Vice President. And that&’s not even mentioning the creators, performers, entrepreneurs, execs and influencers who've been making all this happen, behind the scenes and on the screen; or the activists and representatives continuing to fight for equity, building coalitions and defiantly holding space for our voices and concerns. And still: Asian America is just getting started. The timing could not be better for this intimate, eye-opening, and frequently hilarious guided tour through the pop-cultural touchstones and sociopolitical shifts of the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and beyond. Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang chronicle how we&’ve arrived at today&’s unprecedented diversity of Asian American cultural representation through engaging, interactive infographics (including a step-by-step guide to a night out in K-Town, an atlas that unearths historic Asian American landmarks, a handy &“Appreciation or Appropriation?&” flowchart, and visual celebrations of both our "founding fathers and mothers" and the nostalgia-inducing personalities of each decade), plus illustrations and graphic essays from major AAPI artists, exclusive roundtables with Asian American cultural icons, and more, anchored by extended insider narratives of each decade by the three co-authors. Rise is an informative, lively, and inclusive celebration of both shared experiences and singular moments, and all the different ways in which we have chosen to come together.
How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents
by Jimmy O. Yang Mike JudgeStandup comic, actor and fan favorite from the popular HBO series Silicon Valley shares his memoir of growing up as a Chinese immigrant in California and making it in Hollywood."I turned down a job in finance to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. My dad thought I was crazy. But I figured it was better to disappoint my parents for a few years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life. I had to disappoint them in order to pursue what I loved. That was the only way to have my Chinese turnip cake and eat an American apple pie too."Jimmy O. Yang is a standup comedian, film and TV actor and fan favorite as the character Jian Yang from the popular HBO series Silicon Valley. In How to American, he shares his story of growing up as a Chinese immigrant who pursued a Hollywood career against the wishes of his parents: Yang arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at age 13, learned English by watching BET RapCity for three hours a day, and worked as a strip club DJ while pursuing his comedy career. He chronicles a near deportation episode during a college trip Tijuana to finally becoming a proud US citizen ten years later. Featuring those and many other hilarious stories, while sharing some hard-earned lessons, How to American mocks stereotypes while offering tongue in cheek advice on pursuing the American dreams of fame, fortune, and strippers.
The Latehomecomer
by Kao Kalia Yang<P>In search of a place to call home, thousands of Hmong families made the journey from the war-torn jungles of Laos to the overcrowded refugee camps of Thailand and onward to America. But lacking a written language of their own, the Hmong experience has been primarily recorded by others. <P>Driven to tell her family's story after her grandmother's death, The Latehomecomer is Kao Kalia Yang's tribute to the remarkable woman whose spirit held them all together. It is also an eloquent, firsthand account of a people who have worked hard to make their voices heard. <P>Beginning in the 1970s, as the Hmong were being massacred for their collaboration with the United States during the Vietnam War, Yang recounts the harrowing story of her family's captivity, the daring rescue undertaken by her father and uncles, and their narrow escape into Thailand where Yang was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. <P>When she was six years old, Yang's family immigrated to America, and she evocatively captures the challenges of adapting to a new place and a new language. <P>Through her words, the dreams, wisdom, and traditions passed down from her grandmother and shared by an entire community have finally found a voice. <P>Together with her sister, Kao Kalia Yang is the founder of a company dedicated to helping immigrants with writing, translating, and business services. A graduate of Carleton College and Columbia University, Yang has recently screened The Place Where We Were Born, a film documenting the experiences of Hmong American refugees.
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir
by Kao Kalia YangIn search of a place to call home, thousands of Hmong families made the journey from the war-torn jungles of Laos to the overcrowded refugee camps of Thailand and onward to America. But lacking a written language of their own, the Hmong experience has been primarily recorded by others. Driven to tell her family's story after her grandmother's death, The Latehomecomer is Kao Kalia Yang's tribute to the remarkable woman whose spirit held them all together. It is also an eloquent, firsthand account of a people who have worked hard to make their voices heard. Beginning in the 1970s, as the Hmong were being massacred for their collaboration with the United States during the Vietnam War, Yang recounts the harrowing story of her family's captivity, the daring rescue undertaken by her father and uncles, and their narrow escape into Thailand where Yang was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. When she was six years old, Yang's family immigrated to America, and she evocatively captures the challenges of adapting to a new place and a new language. Through her words, the dreams, wisdom, and traditions passed down from her grandmother and shared by an entire community have finally found a voice. Together with her sister, Kao Kalia Yang is the founder of a company dedicated to helping immigrants with writing, translating, and business services. A graduate of Carleton College and Columbia University, Yang has recently screened The Place Where We Were Born, a film documenting the experiences of Hmong American refugees. Visit her website at www. kaokaliayang. com.
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir (The Golden Greek)
by Kao Kalia YangThe “unforgettable” true story of a family’s journey from the jungles of Laos to a Thailand refugee camp—and finally, to America (Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down). Kao Kalia Yang was born in 1980 a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand. Her people had fought alongside the Americans in the Vietnam War, but in the tumult that followed, they spent years without a real home. Though her grandmother was reluctant to journey even farther from her birthplace than they already had, the family convinced her that America was their best option. Landing first in California, they eventually settled in St. Paul, Minnesota. Like so many other immigrants, the adults worked long hours, sacrificing in order to give their children opportunities to succeed and reflect well on their community. But the Hmong faced unique challenges, coming from a rain forest as a little-known ethnic group that did not have a written language of its own. Yet, Yang would eventually grow up to write this memoir.
Somewhere in the Unknown World: A Collective Refugee Memoir
by Kao Kalia YangFrom “an exceptional storyteller,” Somewhere in the Unknown World is a collection of powerful stories of refugees who have found new lives in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, told by the award-winning author of The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet.All over this country, there are refugees. But beyond the headlines, few know who they are, how they live, or what they have lost. Although Minnesota is not known for its diversity, the state has welcomed more refugees per capita than any other, from Syria to Bosnia, Thailand to Liberia. Now, with nativism on the rise, Kao Kalia Yang—herself a Hmong refugee—has gathered stories of the stateless who today call the Twin Cities home.Here are people who found the strength and courage to rebuild after leaving all they hold dear. Awo and her mother, who escaped from Somalia, reunite with her father on the phone every Saturday, across the span of continents and decades. Tommy, born in Minneapolis to refugees from Cambodia, cannot escape the war that his parents carry inside. As Afghani flees the reach of the Taliban, he seeks at every stop what he calls a certificate of his humanity. Mr. Truong brings pho from Vietnam to Frogtown in St. Paul, reviving a crumbling block as well as his own family.In Yang’s exquisite, necessary telling, these fourteen stories for refugee journeys restore history and humanity to America's strangers and redeem its long tradition of welcome.
The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father
by Kao Kalia YangFrom the author of The Latehomecomer, a powerful memoir of her father, a Hmong song poet who sacrificed his gift for his children's future in AmericaIn the Hmong tradition, the song poet recounts the story of his people, their history and tragedies, joys and losses; extemporizing or drawing on folk tales, he keeps the past alive, invokes the spirits and the homeland, and records courtships, births, weddings, and wishes. Following her award-winning book The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang now retells the life of her father Bee Yang, the song poet, a Hmong refugee in Minnesota, driven from the mountains of Laos by American's Secret War. Bee lost his father as a young boy and keenly felt his orphanhood. He would wander from one neighbor to the next, collecting the things they said to each other, whispering the words to himself at night until, one day, a song was born. Bee sings the life of his people through the war-torn jungle and a Thai refugee camp. But the songs fall away in the cold, bitter world of a Minneapolis housing project and on the factory floor until, with the death of Bee's mother, the songs leave him for good. But before they do, Bee, with his poetry, has polished a life of poverty for his children, burnished their grim reality so that they might shine.Written with the exquisite beauty for which Kao Kalia Yang is renowned, The Song Poet is a love story -- of a daughter for her father, a father for his children, a people for their land, their traditions, and all that they have lost.
Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother's Life
by Kao Kalia YangAn Esquire Best Memoir of 2024 A mesmerizing and hauntingly beautiful memoir about a Hmong family&’s epic journey to safety told from the perspective of the author&’s incredible mother who survived, and helped her family escape, against all odds.Born in 1961 in war-torn Laos, Tswb&’s childhood was marked by the violence of America&’s Secret War and the CIA recruitment of the Hmong and other ethnic minorities into the lost cause. By the time Tswb was a teenager, the US had completely vacated Laos, and the country erupted into genocidal attacks on the Hmong people, who were labeled as traitors. Fearing for their lives, Tswb and her family left everything they knew behind and fled their village for the jungle. Perpetually on the run and on the brink of starvation, Tswb eventually crossed paths with the man who would become her future husband. Leaving her own mother behind, she joined his family at a refugee camp, a choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Eventually becoming a mother herself, Tswb raised her daughters in a state of constant fear and hunger until they were able to emigrate to the US, where the determined couple enrolled in high school even though they were both nearly thirty, and worked grueling jobs to provide for their children. Now, her daughter, Kao Kalia Yang, reveals her mother&’s astonishing saga with tenderness and unvarnished clarity, giving voice to the countless resilient refugees who are often overlooked as one of the essential foundations of this country. Evocative, stirring, and unforgettable, Where Rivers Part is destined to become a classic.
Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country
by Kelly YangFrom #1 NYT bestselling author Kelly Yang comes a gorgeously illustrated picture book about Asian American changemakers doing everything they dreamed of and inspiring all of us to reach for new heights!From creating beautiful music like Yo-Yo Ma to flying to outer space like Franklin Chang-Díaz; from standing up to injustice like Fred Korematsu to becoming the first Asian American, Black and female vice president of the United States like Kamala Harris, this book illuminates the power of Asian Americans all over the country, in all sorts of fields. Each spread is illustrated by a different renowned Asian American or Asian artist. Alongside the poetic main text, Yes We Will includes one-line biographies of the person or historical moment featured on the page, with extended biographies at the end. Readers of different ages and needs can use the book in different ways, from classroom discussions to bedtime readalouds and more. Yes We Will answers the question, can we accomplish whatever we dream? With love, courage, determination, and lots of imagination, we can—and we will! Featured changemakers:Franklin Chang-DíazLia CirioTammy DuckworthJenny HanKamala HarrisH.E.R.Fred KorematsuPadma LakshmiSunisa LeeJeremy LiYo-Yo MaAmanda NguyenSandra OhI. M. PeiMamie TapePeter TsaiPhilip Vera CruzVera Wang
Zora Neale Hurston: Southern Storyteller
by Della A. YannuzziBiography of Zora Neale Hurston. What this young southern African-American woman lacked in material wealth was balanced by a big talent and a strong will to succeed.
Bad Animals: A Father's Accidental Education in Autism
by Joel YanofskyJoel Yanofsky tried for years to start this memoir. "It's not just going to be about autism," he told his wife, Cynthia. "It's going to be about parenthood and marriage, about hope and despair, and storytelling, too." "Marriage?" Cynthia said. "What about marriage?" A veteran book reviewer, Yanofsky has spent a lifetime immersed in literature (not to mention old movies and old jokes), which he calls shtick. This account of a year in the life of a family describes a father's struggle to enter his son's world, the world of autism, using the materials he knows best: self-help books, feel-good memoirs, literary classics from the Bible to Dr. Seuss, old movies, and, yes, shtick. Funny, wrenching, and unfailingly candid, Bad Animals is both an exploration of a baffling condition and a quirky love story told by a gifted writer.
To Make a Difference
by Joel Yanofsky Morris GoodmanWhat goes into making a life successful and what does success mean? If you think about a life as a chemical equation, then the elements are obvious: family, work, purpose. The key is discovering how to get the balance just right. In To Make a Difference, Montreal entrepreneur and philanthropist Morris Goodman shares his personal and professional prescription for success and enduring happiness. Born in 1931 in Montreal to Ukrainian immigrants during the worst days of the Great Depression, Goodman recounts the events, strategies, and lucky breaks that led to a thriving company and a life of philanthropic accomplishments. From his first job as a pharmacy delivery boy to his graduation from the University of Montreal's Faculty of Pharmacy - when he had already started his own pharmaceutical company - through the crucial moments that created an international business, Goodman depicts stirring accounts of Montreal's Jewish community and the development of the global pharmaceutical industry. Along the way, he presents vivid, generous portraits of colleagues and business collaborators. To Make a Difference is a powerful rags-to-riches story but it is also much more - it is a heartfelt, candid, and inspiring exploration of what makes our lives rich, what we value, and why.
Cultiver la différence
by Joel Yanofsky Marie-Françoise Lalande Michel Buttiens Morris GoodmanWhat goes into making a life successful and what does success mean? If you think about a life as a chemical equation, then the elements are obvious: family, work, purpose. The key is discovering how to get the balance just right. In Cultiver la différence, Montreal entrepreneur and philanthropist Morris Goodman shares his personal and professional prescription for success and enduring happiness. Born in 1931 in Montreal to Ukrainian immigrants during the worst days of the Great Depression, Goodman recounts the events, strategies, and lucky breaks that led to a thriving company and a life of philanthropic accomplishments. From his first job as a pharmacy delivery boy to his graduation from the University of Montreal's Faculty of Pharmacy - when he had already started his own pharmaceutical company - through the crucial moments that created an international business, Goodman depicts stirring accounts of Montreal's Jewish community and the development of the global pharmaceutical industry. Along the way, he presents vivid, generous portraits of colleagues and business collaborators. Cultiver la différence is a powerful rags-to-riches story but it is also much more - it is a heartfelt, candid, and inspiring exploration of what makes our lives rich, what we value, and why.
The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide
by Scott Yanow"The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide is an overview of jazz vocalism. This guide consists of more than 800 profiles that together span the history of jazz, from the dawn of commercial recordings to the present day. Author Scott Yanow goes beyond the household names to include many other important singers of yesterday and today."--BOOK JACKET.
Dream of the Divided Field: Poems
by YanyiFrom an award-winning poet comes a collection on heartbreak and transitions, written with a piercing lyric ferocity. &“A book like no other: tender, and eloquent, a singing across borders, across silences.&”—Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic, National Book Award finalistThe poems in Yanyi&’s latest book suggest that we enter and exit our old selves like homes. We look through the windows and recognize some former aspect of our lives that is both ours and not ours. We long for what we had even as we recognize that we can no longer live there. Yanyi conjures the beloved both within and without us: the beloved we believe we know, the beloved who is never the person we imagine, and the beloved who threatens to erase us even as we stand before them. How can we carry our homes with us? Informed by Yanyi&’s experiences of immigration, violent heartbreak, and a bodily transition, Dream of the Divided Field explores the contradictions that accompany shifts from one state of being to another. In tender, serene, and ethereal poems, Dream of the Divided Field examines a body breaking down and a body that rebuilds in limitless and boundary-shifting ways. These are homes in memory—homes of love and isolation, lust and alienation, tenderness and violence, suffering and wonder.
Conrad, Autobiographical Remembering, and the Making of Narrative Identity (Routledge Auto/Biography Studies)
by Xiaoling YaoDrawing on recent studies on life writing, memory, the narrative turn, and psychology, Conrad, Autobiographical Remembering, and the Making of Narrative Identity is the first major work that extensively explores the dynamic interplay between Conrad’s autobiographical remembering and storytelling in relation to his identity construction within a historical and cultural context. This unique perspective makes the book particularly attractive for students, teachers, and researchers of Conrad. Contrary to the prevalent "achievement-and-decline" paradigm that implies a decline in quality of Conrad’s works in his later period, this volume contends that Conrad’s later works continue to engage with the complex questions of memory, identity, and culture, demonstrating a sustained commitment to exploring the intricacies of the human experiences. Essential reading for Conrad enthusiasts, but also for those who seek to explore how memory studies in literature intersect with psychology, philosophy, and cultural studies.
Crime, Deviance and Doping: Fallen Sports Stars, Autobiography and the Management of Stigma
by Majid YarYar examines the autobiographies of fallen sports stars, exploring their fall from grace and the stigma it entails. Drawing upon sociological and criminological perspectives, it illuminates how fallen stars use confessional acts of story-telling to seek forgiveness, vindication and redemption.
A Shau Valor: American Combat Operations in the Valley of Death, 1963–1971
by Thomas R. YarboroughFrom the award-winning author of Da Nang Diary, the "detailed military history" (Publishers Weekly) of the fighting between the North Vietnamese Army and the US military and its South Vietnamese allies in the "Valley of Death," site of the infamous Battle of Hamburger Hill Throughout the Vietnam War, one focal point persisted where the Viet Cong guerrillas and Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) were not a major factor, but where the trained professionals of the North Vietnamese and US armies repeatedly fought head-to-head. A Shau Valor is a thorough study of nine years of American combat operations encompassing the crucial frontier valley and a fifteen-mile radius around it-the most deadly killing ground of the entire war. Beginning in 1963, Special Forces A-teams established camps along the valley floor, followed by a number of top-secret Project Delta reconnaissance missions through 1967. Then, US Army and Marine Corps maneuver battalions engaged in a series of sometimes-controversial thrusts into the A Shau, designed to disrupt NVA infiltrations and to kill enemy soldiers, part of what came to be known as Westmoreland's "war of attrition." The various campaigns included Operation Pirous (1967); Operations Delaware and Somerset Plain (1968); and Operations Dewey Canyon, Massachusetts Striker, and Apache Snow (1969)-which included the infamous battle for Hamburger Hill-culminating with Operation Texas Star and the vicious fight for and humiliating evacuation of Fire Support Base Ripcord in the summer of 1970, the last major US battle of the war. By 1971, the fighting had once again shifted to the realm of small Special Forces reconnaissance teams assigned to the ultra-secret Studies and Observations Group (SOG). Other works have focused on individual battles or units, but A Shau Valor is the first to study the campaign-for all its courage and sacrifice-chronologically and within the context of other historical, political, and cultural events.
Da Nang Diary: A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Flying with SOG
by Tom Yarborough&“[An] intimate account of a Forward Air Controller working with the Special Forces on their secret operations in South Vietnam and Laos . . . Don&’t miss it!&” (John Prados, author of Storm Over Leyte). Originally published in 1991, this classic work has now been revised and updated with additional photos. It is the story of how, in Vietnam, an elite group of Air Force pilots fought a secret air war in Cessna 0-2 and OV-10 Bronco prop planes—flying as low as they could get. The eyes and ears of the fast-moving jets who rained death and destruction down on enemy positions, the forward air controller made an art form out of an air strike—knowing the targets, knowing where friendly troops were, and reacting with split-second, life-and-death decisions as a battle unfolded. The expertise of the low, slow FACs, as well as the hazard attendant to their role, made for a unique bird&’s-eye perspective on how the entire war in Vietnam unfolded. For Tom Yarborough, who logged 1,500 hours of combat flying time, the risk was constant, intense, and electrifying. A member of the super-secret &“Prairie Fire&” unit, Yarborough became one of the most frequently shot-up pilots flying out of Da Nang—engaging in a series of dangerous secret missions in Laos. In this work, the reader flies in the cockpit alongside Yarborough in his adrenaline-pumping chronicle of heroism, danger, and wartime brotherhood. From the rescuing of downed pilots to taking out enemy positions, to the most harrowing extended missions directly overhead of the NVA, here is the dedication, courage and skill of the fliers who took the war into the enemy&’s backyard.